A paraplegic teenager will officially kick-off this year's FIFA World Cup in Brazil, showcasing new technology which could transform lives for millions of paralysed people.
The teen is one of eight patients currently taking part in Walk Again, a vast research project that hopes to enable wheelchair-bound people to remobilise using robotics.
The first big demonstration of the Walk Again project will be conducted on 12 June at the Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo, a little before the World Cup's opening match between Brazil and Croatia.
Wearing an exoskeleton, the teenage patient will get up from the wheelchair, walk around 25 metres onto the pitch and take the World Cup's first kick.
Patients will control the exoskeleton - a robotic vest - using their brain. The messages sent by the brain - such as the wish to walk, move or stop - will be captured by the robot so that the movements may be generated.
The technology has been created by an international team of designers and engineers working under the Walk Again project.
To see a video of the vest in action at the "neurorobotics" laboratory in Sao Paulo, click here.
Brazilian neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis is in charge of coordinating the World Cup project.
He said: "The exoskeleton is 1.78m tall, almost 1.80m. Its final weight has yet to be defined, as some tests still need to be run, but it should weigh around 60-70kg.
"However, the weight's irrelevant because the patient will not feel the weight, the machine will be responsible for the patient's, as well as the exoskeleton's balance, while the patient control the beginning and ending of movements, as well as the kick, obviously.
"The sensors are on the sole and will deliver these signals to the person's arm, who will imagine their legs walking, moving and stamping on the ground through the feedback sent to their arms."
